Got into some longer tracks this time around on The Obelisk Show, and that was very much on purpose. Last episode was the Kyuss special, and that was a lot of fun, but when I started this show I guess over a year ago now, I was thinking of it specifically as something a little bit against the grain of what Gimme Radio usually does, so yeah, I definitely consider playing like 15-minute tracks and in this case, a 23-minute track, as counter to the general consideration of where “radio” — even in its interwebular iteration — generally goes. At least I like to imagine it being that way.

So yes. A lot of new music around here, and some longer tracks from the likes of Taras Bulba, Jesus the Snake (get jazzy, y’all), Ireland’s Coroza and Swedes V and Goatess. Also the new single from Blackwater Holylight because it’s so good that I had to play it, new stuff from Here Lies Man, Year of the Cobra, Ogre, Lamassu and the Alunah track that was premiered here this week, basically just as a brag on my part. And for the classic track? Oh, it’s only “Catharsis” by YOB. If you can think of a better way to spend the aforementioned 23 minutes of your life than listening to that, I’d love to hear it.

I haven’t cut the voice tracks yet as I write this (I’ll do them this afternoon), so I don’t know how much of a dork I sound like, but I’m sure I’ll sound like plenty of a dork when I get there. But thanks for listening if you do in just a couple hours, and thanks for your ongoing support generally, because it’s what lets me do crazy stuff like a radio show on the station that has Dave Mustaine and the dude from Amon Amarth as DJs. These are wacky times.

As of this writing, I just finished cutting the voice tracks for this episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio, which is centered around the Kyuss family tree. No, it’s not the entire thing — how could it possibly be the entire thing? — but it’s definitely a decent portion of it. You’ve got your John Garcia bands in Unida, Slo Burn and Hermano. You’ve got Nick Oliveri‘s acoustic stuff and Scott Reeder sitting in on the Yawning Sons record. You’ve got Ché and two solo tracks from Brant Bjork, along with Desert Sessions and Queens of the Stone Age and even Them Crooked Vultures just because I thought it was ridiculous coming out of The Obsessed. I was right about that, incidentally.

I guess if there’s an overarching lesson to taking a look at the Kyuss family tree, it’s the sheer insane amount of music these people have produced in the last 25-plus years. From Brant Bjork joining Fu Manchu to Josh Homme hosting the Desert Sessions and Alfredo Hernandez playing drums for Yawning Man, it’s unreal how far the branches go, and once you get into the fact that Scott Reeder was in The Obsessed with Wino, there’s an entire other tree right there. Forest of Riffs. I’m not complaining — the more the merrier — but if you sit and think about it for too long, it’s little short of overwhelming.

If you get to listen to the show, I hope you dig it. If not, thanks for reading anyhow.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 08.30.19

Kyuss

Whitewater

Welcome to Sky Valley (S/T; 1994)

Kyuss

Green Machine

Blues for the Red Sun (1992)

BREAK

Desert Sessions

Avon

Desert Sessions Vol. 3 & 4 (1998)

Slo Burn

Pilot the Dune

Amusing the Amazing (1996)

Ché

Blue Demon

Sounds of Liberation (2000)

Queens of the Stone Age

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret

Rated R (2000)

Scott Reeder

As I’m Dreamin’

TunnelVision Brilliance (2006)

Brant Bjork

Automatic Fantastic

Jalamanta (1999)

BREAK

Brant Bjork

Somebody

Mankind Woman (2018)

Hermano

Exam Room

…Into the Exam Room (2007)

House of Broken Promises

Tornado

Twisted (2017)

Nick Oliveri

I’m Gonna Leave You

Death Acoustic (2009)

Yawning Sons

Garden Sessions III

Ceremony to the Sunset (2009)

Fu Manchu

Saturn III

The Action is Go (1997)

Unida

You Wish

Coping with the Urban Coyote (1999)

BREAK

The Obsessed

Brother Blue Steel

Lunar Womb (1991)

Them Crooked Vultures

Mind Eraser, No Chaser

Them Crooked Vultures (2009)

Yawning Man

Camel Tow

Nomadic Pursuits (2010)

Vista Chino

Acidize… The Gambling Moose

Peace (2013)

Kyuss

El Rodeo

…And the Circus Leaves Town (1995)

Kyuss

Allen’s Wrench

Blues for the Red Sun (1992)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Sept. 13. Thanks for listening if you do.

Last time around, I actually managed to post the playlist for The Obelisk Show before Gimme Radio aired it, and I thought that worked pretty well, letting people know what was going to be on and all that. As it stands, I haven’t even had the chance to record the voice breaks yet for this one, but it’ll get done before airtime. Again, lots of new stuff this episode and a lot of it drawn from recent coverage around here, as well as some stuff that will be upcoming, whether it’s V‘s new single or the 20-minute Comacozer track that ends out.

That song and the We Lost the Sea track before it make up the final 35 minutes of the show. I wanted a couple longer tracks this time out, so between those, V, Monolord, Oblivion Reptilian and Hound the Wolves, I feel like we got there. There’s a couple rockers up front with Bison Machine, Blackwater Holylight and Lightning Born, but from then on pretty much all bets are off. I never know how that kind of thing will be received by the Gimme listenership, but screw it, I haven’t been fired yet, so I’ll take that for what it tells me. Not much, I suppose.

Dug these songs though. The Lightning Born, Sleeping Giant and The Black Wizards cuts were standouts from their respective albums, and the new Goatess single was just premiered elsewhere, but I’ll be covering the album too, so wanted to give that a chance to shine here. And a little bit of Crowbar seemed appropriate as I’ve already seen them once this month and plan to do so again before the month is out. Some bands you just can’t get enough.

Thanks for checking it out if you get the chance.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 08.16.19

Bison Machine

The Tower

Seas of Titan*

Blackwater Holylight

Motorcycle

Veils of Winter*

Lightning Born

Salvation

Lightning Born*

BREAK

The Black Wizards

Kaleidoscope Eyes

Reflections*

Sleeping Giant

Serpent

Sleeping Giant*

Oblivion Reptilian

Alien Shit

Fried on Rock*

Hound the Wolves

Godhead

Split with Glasghote*

BREAK

Crowbar

All I Had I Gave

Crowbar (1993)

Monolord

The Bastard Son

No Comfort*

V

Phantasmagoria

Led into Exile*

Goatess

Dunerider

Blood and Wine*

BREAK

We Lost the Sea

Towers

Triumph & Disaster*

Comacozer

Kykeneon Journey

Mydriasis*

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Aug. 30. Thanks for listening if you do.

It’s a good show, and kind of back to normal as regards general methodology. A lot of new music, which makes me happy, and some Acrimony for a classic track, which I feel like I may have done before but seemed relevant to me anyway for reasons that will become clear over the next however long — ooh, intrigue! — and the title-tracks from new High on Fire and Mars Red Sky EPs. Had to get that High on Fire in there in light of Des leaving the band. Still really curious to see what they’re like without him.

A lot of this stuff has been covered around here lately — Horseburner, Pale Grey Lore, Monarch, Wolf Blood, The Ivory Elephant, Dead Feathers — but there’s more that I haven’t yet had the chance to properly write about in bands like Glacier, Sibyl, the new Book of Wyrms and Merlin releases, etc., so I think it’s a cool balance of stuff overall, and the tracks rule. And if you listen to the show, I kind of nerd out a bit about the new Mars Red Sky record, which is always enjoyable. For me, mostly, I suspect. But still.

Fun show. Glad I made it, and it’s the 20th one, which is a genuine surprise. If I was Gimme, I would’ve shitcanned me long ago.

Anyway, check it out if you can, and thanks.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 08.02.19

Pale Grey Lore

Before the Fall

Eschatology*

Horseburner

Drowning Bird

The Thief*

High on Fire

Bat Salad

Bat Salad*

BREAK

Mars Red Sky

Collector

Collector*

The Ivory Elephant

Stoneface

Stoneface*

Dead Feathers

Horse and Sands

All is Lost*

Merlin

Chaos Blade

The Mortal*

Hippie Death Cult

Breeder’s Curse

111*

BREAK

Acrimony

Hymns to the Stone

Tumuli Shroomaroom (1997)

Sibyl

Pendulums

The Magic Isn’t Real*

Wolf Blood

Slaughterhouse

II*

Monarch

Counterpart

Beyond the Blue Sky*

Book of Wyrms

Spirit Drifter

Remythologizer*

BREAK

Glacier

O! World! I Remain No Longer Here

No Light Ever*

Frozen Planet….1969

Rollback

Meltdown on the Horizon*

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Aug. 16. Thanks for listening if you do.

Yeah, I know, Maryland Doom Fest 2019 was like a month ago. Quit livin’ in the past and all that. Well, this show was supposed to air July 5, so whatever. It got pushed back because apparently July 4 is some kind of holiday now — what.ever. — and it was kicked down the line to two weeks later with re-runs on in the interim. Did anyone notice? Did anyone care? I did. But I’m glad to have had the chance to pay homage to MDDF one way or the other, since it was such a killer time and boasted a lineup of so many good bands.

Of course I had to lead off with Beelzefuzz and Foghound, two staples of the Frederick diet, and the show unfolds from there with new stuff from Zed and Lo-Pan and Kings Destroy amid the likes of Devil to Pay and Earthride and Backwoods Payback and Greenbeard. I made sure to put Solace and Freedom Hawk and Horehound and Toke and Witchkiss in here because their sets were particularly righteous — not to mention Year of the Cobra! — and in addition to representing the headliners in Conan, Mothership and Earthride, I had to include WarHorse since their reunion set was something so particularly special and such a huge part of the festival.

For those who didn’t hear the show, Gimme Radio runs the ‘Gimme Brigade’ which you can sign up for. I think it’s $5 a month or something like that, but you get access to their full archive and help them with hosting costs, etc., so fair enough. If you got to hear this one, thanks. If not, the basic point of the thing was that Maryland Doom Fest 2019 kicked ass, which I sincerely hope also came across in the reviews.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 07.19.19

Beelzefuzz

All the Feeling Returns

Beelzefuzz (2013)

Foghound

Known Wolves

Awaken to Destroy (2018)

Zed

Chingus

Volume*

Lo-Pan

Savage Heart

Subtle*

BREAK

Devil to Pay

Ten Lizardmen and One Pocketknife

Fate is Your Muse (2013)

Kings Destroy

Yonkers Ceiling Collapse

Fantasma Nera*

Earthride

Vampire Circus

Vampire Circus (2005)

Witchkiss

Seer

The Austere Curtains of Our Eyes (2018)

Year of the Cobra

Cold

Burn Your Dead (2017)

BREAK

Solace

Khan (World of Fire)

The Black Black (2007)

Backwoods Payback

Whatever

Future Slum (2018)

Toke

Blackened

Orange (2017)

Greenbeard

WCCQ

Onward, Pillager (2018)

Conan

Battle in the Swamp

Monnos (2012)

Apostle of Solitude

Ruination Be Thy Name

From Gold to Ash (2018)

The Age of Truth

Come Back a God

Threshold (2017)

BREAK

Horehound

Dier’s Dirge

Holocene (2018)

Freedom Hawk

Danger

Beast Remains (2018)

Mothership

Midnight Express

High Strangeness (2017)

Warhorse

Lysergic Communion

As Heaven Turns to Ash (2001)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Aug. 2. Thanks for listening if you do.

Before I get started, I want to say thanks to Mark Kitchens from Stone Machine Electric for the artwork above. He did the platypus design and I added the blue background and yellow text kind of thinking it would be like one of those old title cards from David Letterman or something. I love it, so yeah. Thanks, Mark.

Like the prior episode, this one was themed around a playlist of some of the best of 2019 so far. I actually didn’t get to hear the whole show because I was at Maryland Doom Fest this past weekend, but I did check in on it while doing other stuff in Frederick. One way or the other, the playlist starts with Holy Grove and has Yawning Man, Magic Circle, Duel, Nebula, Roadsaw, Earth and Across Tundras on it, so you know it’s going to be killer. Really, the only thing I’d have listened for was to make sure I didn’t ruin it with my own derpy derp derp.

I wanted to include some lesser-known stuff here too, so check out the Cosmic Fall, SÂVER, Ealdor Bealu and Mount Saturn tracks if you haven’t, and that Centrum at the end I really dig a lot. Hell, the whole thing is great. You really can’t go wrong when your operating theme is “stuff that’s awesome.”

Thanks if you got to check it out.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 06.21.19

Holy Grove

Valley of the Mystics

Holy Grove II

0:10:37

Duel

Drifting Alone

Valley of Shadows

0:04:27

The Well

Death Song

Death and Consolation

0:04:48

BREAK

Across Tundras

The Rugged Ranges of Curbs & Broken Minds

The Rugged Ranges of Curbs & Broken Minds

0:06:58

Yawning Man

I Make Weird Choices

Macedonian Lines

0:07:21

Cosmic Fall

Lackland

Lackland

0:08:32

Lamp of the Universe

Rite of the Spheres

Align in the Fourth Dimension

0:05:12

SÂVER

Dissolve to Ashes

They Came with Sunlight

0:07:43

Atala

Upon the Altar

The Bearer of Light

0:06:06

Magic Circle

I’ve Found My Way to Die

Departed Souls

0:05:11

BREAK

Mount Saturn

Idol Hands

Kiss the Ring

0:04:11

Nebula

Man’s Best Friend

Holy Shit

0:04:56

Ruff Majik

Seasoning the Witch

Tårn

0:06:31

Earth

An Unnatural Carousel

Full Upon Her Burning Lips

0:06:51

Ealdor Bealu

Smoke Signals

Spirit of the Lonely Places

0:07:32

BREAK

Roadsaw

Under the Devil’s Thumb

Tinnitus the Night

0:03:54

Centrum

Sjön

För Meditation

0:08:39

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is July 5. Thanks for listening if you do.

So because I suck at naming themed episodes, this episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio was ‘Some of the Best of 2019 So Far.’ Yeah, I know, way to commit. Whatever. You get the point. We’re six months deep into the year if you can wrap your head around it, and it’s a good time to check in and see where we’re at.

One thing that stood out to me in making the playlist is that it’s been an exceedingly good half-year for doom. New records from Saint Vitus, Candlemass and Lord Vicar would be enough of their own, then you toss in stuff like Obsidian Sea and Demon Head, among others and it’s kind of incredible. Kings Destroy’s “Dead Before” is high on the list of the best songs I’ve heard this year, so I wanted to include that for sure, and there was room to space out a bit with Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard and Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree. I also really dug the Sigils record, and kind of felt like I didn’t write enough about it, so that’s in there too.

The bottom line, of course, is there was more than I could fit in one episode, and there are enough tracks that feel conspicuous in their absence for me to not put together a second episode working on the same theme. So I think I’ll probably do that next time. Can I get away with playing The Claypool Lennon Delirium on Gimme Radio? I don’t know, but it might be fun to try.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 06.07.19

Uffe Lorenzen

Angakkoq

Triprapport

0:04:08

Kings Destroy

Dead Before

Fantasma Nera

0:04:25

Green Lung

May Queen

Woodland Rites

0:06:41

BREAK

Spidergawd

All and Everything

Spidergawd V

0:06:12

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard

Katyusha

Yn Ol I Annwn

0:13:23

Bees Made Honey in the Vein Tree

Grandmother

Grandmother

0:10:58

Sigils

Samhain

You Built the Altar, You Lit the Leaves

0:09:39

Thunderbird Divine

Bummer Bridge

Magnasonic

0:05:34

BREAK

Candlemass

Under the Ocean

The Door to Doom

0:06:15

Saint Vitus

12 Years in the Tomb

Saint Vitus

0:05:23

Demon Head

Strange Eggs

Hellfire Ocean Void

0:07:01

Obsidian Sea

A Shore Without a Sea

Strangers

0:08:49

Lord Vicar

Levitation

The Black Powder

0:04:57

BREAK

Lo-Pan

A Thousand Miles

Subtle

0:04:06

Valley of the Sun

Dim Vision

Old Gods

0:03:55

Yatra

Snakes in the Temple

Death Ritual

0:06:41

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is June 21. Thanks for listening if you do.

This was the first episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio to air in the new timeslot of Friday at 1PM Eastern, and I’ll just be honest, I think it was the best one I’ve done yet. The music was right on, the rhythm of one song into the next. There’s a way to make a thing like this that carries a flow — remember mixtapes? Same deal. This one had that. It tripped out when it needed to with Kandodo3 and instead of going psych-blast at the end, it went heavy with Nomadic Rituals and Thronehammer. I loved opening with 16 Horsepower as something unexpected and apart from both the riffy and the Gimme norm, and from pairing Lord Vicar and Destroyer of Light — someone book that tour! — to Sacri Monti and Wild Rocket, everything just came together right.

Tapping Monster Magnet for a classic track (classic track! yay!) didn’t hurt either, but even aside from that, it was a cool show. I’m not sure of the timing on re-airings — they’re every Sunday now at 7PM Eastern; the old timeslot for new episodes — but Gimme also has that Brigade thing you can join and listen to their full archive of everything. I’m not trying to spend your money; just want to give you options and not be like, “Hey this awesome thing happened and you missed it!” On that thought, maybe I should start posting these playlists before the show airs. Hmm… Things to consider.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 05.24.19

16 Horsepower

Hutterite Mile

Folklore (2002)

Abrahma

Last Epistle

In Time for the Last Rays of Light*

Giant Dwarf

Repeat After Defeat

Giant Dwarf*

BREAK

Monster Magnet

Ozium

Spine of God (1992)

Vorrh

Myths

Nomads of the Infinite Wild (2018)

Kandodo3

Everything – Green’s – Gone

K3*

Lord Vicar

The Temple in the Bedrock

The Black Powder*

Destroyer of Light

Eternal Death

Mors Aeterna*

Faerie Ring

Lost Wind

The Clearing*

Ruff Majik

Speed Hippie

Tarn*

BREAK

Sacri Monti

Waiting Room for the Magic Hour

Waiting Room for the Magic Hour*

Wild Rocket

Caught in Triangle Again

Disassociation Mechanics (2017)

Slomatics

Mind Fortresses on Theia

Canyons*

BREAK

Nomadic Rituals

Face Down in the Sea of Oblivion

Marking the Day (2017)

Thronehammer

Behind the Wall of Frost

Usurper of the Oaken Throne*

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is June 7. Thanks for listening if you do.